Written By: Sydney Camfield, Hannah Craft, and Matthew Sander
Introduction
Daedalus was a well known and talented Athenian artist and inventor and his family's myth has been an important story to our culture. This story is told by Ovid and Apollodurus. The myth includes Daedalus, an inventor; Icarus, his son; his nephew Talos; Minos, king of Crete; Athena, goddess of wisdom; and Polycasta, Daedalus' sister. This myth is about a father and son working together to escape a tower with their wax wings, will it work? This story has been a base for many others story's, including Andrew J. Ranalletta's twist on Daedalus and Icarus titled "How my son made his splash." Ranalletta's version is about difficult it was to escape and how their plan of wax wings slowly fell into place. As Icarus became impatient with his father, he flew to his fate.
Summary
Daedalus and Icarus is one of the most well known Greek myths, because it deals with so many big ideas and themes. The main characters are Daedalus, a great inventor, and Icarus, his son. The story starts off with Icarus wanting to travel to his birthplace and live there because , but the sea had closed in on him and he had no way of getting there. So, his father Daedalus had an idea to create great wings for Icarus so that he could soar above the waters. He constructed the wings from feathers, string, and wax to mimic a real bird. After it was finished Daedalus gave the wings to his son Icarus and gave him very important instructions. He told Icarus to fly in the middle region and never get too high because the sun will melt the wax, but never too low because the waves will pull him in. After Icarus was warned he set out on his long journey, but he was stubborn and didn't take his fathers advice. Icarus soar too close to the sun and melted his wings. He then started plummeting to the waters below. Where he crashed and died.
Themes and Lessons
There are many big lessons and themes going on throughout this myth. The first being young vs old. Daedalus warned Icarus before his journey to fly in the middle region, but he disregarded his warning and flew too close to the sun. This is probably one of the biggest themes, because it is what the whole story revolves around. Also in most cases the elders know more than the young. Another theme would be humans/mortals need to be in their place. When Icarus was able to fly he felt too much like a god and immortal. He thought he was the best and indestructible then he flew too close to the sun and lost his life. The last theme is technology. In today's society technology is a big part. We use iPads, phones, and computers all the time, but just like in the myth they aren't always good. So, sometimes you just need to stop and approach technology cautiously instead of jumping right into it.
Facts
- The name Daedalus derives from the Greek verb "daedalo" which means "work with skill"
- Many famous artists and craftsmen learned arts in the side of Daedalus. - Many architectural business' are named after Daedalus' for his great carpentry skills - Minos had earlier called on Daedalus to build the famous Labyrinth - Daedalus created many objects that figure prominently in various myths - Among Daedalus's various inventions, the "wooden cow" was for Queen Pasiphae - There is a bookstore named //Daedalus Books and Music// online where you can buy used books
Allusions to Daedalus and Icarus
The story of Daedalus and Icarus is well known through out the entire world and here are some things people use from this story.First, lets look into sayings,there is "flying too close to the sun." It means that you are taking a risk and that you could plunder if you fail. Next, there are movies and shows, there is a show called mythic warriors which comes from the 1990's and it has an episode about Daedalus and Icarus and they will say different things referring to Daedalus.There are kids shows but those have Daedalus on stages and no allusion. Now let's see whom people think of as a modern allusion of Daedalus. I will now show you a list of people that are often alluded to Daedalus
- Thomas Edison
- James Joyce [his own opinion according to Wikipedia]
- James Joyce wrote a book called Stephan Hero, which would later be called Portrait,he would have an alter ego and do what ever Daedalus did and he even flew in his novel. The only difference between his character's name and Daedalus's was the first a.
Also, another allusion to the myth is Beatty in Fahrenheit 451 compared Montag to Icarus. Lastly, in an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Twilight Sparkle makes some magical wings for Rarity, warning her that they are very delicate. Ignoring this, Rarity enters a flying competition, deciding to fly as high as possible so that the sun would shine through her wings and cover Cloudsdale in colorful light. The sun burns her wings up, and Rarity plummets nearly to her death, being saved only at the last moment by Rainbow Dash.
Famous works of art
A popular painting that was painted by Pieter Bruegel is featured above and it is a scene of people going through their normal life while Icarus falls out of the sky and goes into the sea.The painting is from the 1560's and is out of oil paints.
Next there is a pre-flight scene of Icarus having Daedalus strap on the wings.This painting is in the Art Gallery of Ontario and it is was painted by Anthony van Dyck in the 1620's by oil and canvas.
http://www.ago.net/anthony-van-dyck-daedalus-and-icarus
Klein, H. Arthur., and Mina C. Klein. Peter Bruegel the Elder: Artist of Abundance : An Illustrated Portrait of His Life, Era, and Art. New York: MacMillan, 1968. Print.
Ranalletta, Andrew J. The Greek Myths: For Better or Verse. New York: Exposition, 1972. Print.
Introduction
Daedalus was a well known and talented Athenian artist and inventor and his family's myth has been an important story to our culture. This story is told by Ovid and Apollodurus. The myth includes Daedalus, an inventor; Icarus, his son; his nephew Talos; Minos, king of Crete; Athena, goddess of wisdom; and Polycasta, Daedalus' sister. This myth is about a father and son working together to escape a tower with their wax wings, will it work? This story has been a base for many others story's, including Andrew J. Ranalletta's twist on Daedalus and Icarus titled "How my son made his splash." Ranalletta's version is about difficult it was to escape and how their plan of wax wings slowly fell into place. As Icarus became impatient with his father, he flew to his fate.Summary
Daedalus and Icarus is one of the most well known Greek myths, because it deals with so many big ideas and themes. The main characters are Daedalus, a great inventor, and Icarus, his son. The story starts off with Icarus wanting to travel to his birthplace and live there because , but the sea had closed in on him and he had no way of getting there. So, his father Daedalus had an idea to create great wings for Icarus so that he could soar above the waters. He constructed the wings from feathers, string, and wax to mimic a real bird. After it was finished Daedalus gave the wings to his son Icarus and gave him very important instructions. He told Icarus to fly in the middle region and never get too high because the sun will melt the wax, but never too low because the waves will pull him in. After Icarus was warned he set out on his long journey, but he was stubborn and didn't take his fathers advice. Icarus soar too close to the sun and melted his wings. He then started plummeting to the waters below. Where he crashed and died.
Themes and Lessons
There are many big lessons and themes going on throughout this myth. The first being young vs old. Daedalus warned Icarus before his journey to fly in the middle region, but he disregarded his warning and flew too close to the sun. This is probably one of the biggest themes, because it is what the whole story revolves around. Also in most cases the elders know more than the young. Another theme would be humans/mortals need to be in their place. When Icarus was able to fly he felt too much like a god and immortal. He thought he was the best and indestructible then he flew too close to the sun and lost his life. The last theme is technology. In today's society technology is a big part. We use iPads, phones, and computers all the time, but just like in the myth they aren't always good. So, sometimes you just need to stop and approach technology cautiously instead of jumping right into it.
Facts
- The name Daedalus derives from the Greek verb "daedalo" which means "work with skill"
- Many famous artists and craftsmen learned arts in the side of Daedalus.
- Many architectural business' are named after Daedalus' for his great carpentry skills
- Minos had earlier called on Daedalus to build the famous Labyrinth
- Daedalus created many objects that figure prominently in various myths
- Among Daedalus's various inventions, the "wooden cow" was for Queen Pasiphae
- There is a bookstore named //Daedalus Books and Music// online where you can buy used books
Allusions to Daedalus and Icarus
The story of Daedalus and Icarus is well known through out the entire world and here are some things people use from this story.First, lets look into sayings,there is "flying too close to the sun." It means that you are taking a risk and that you could plunder if you fail. Next, there are movies and shows, there is a show called mythic warriors which comes from the 1990's and it has an episode about Daedalus and Icarus and they will say different things referring to Daedalus.There are kids shows but those have Daedalus on stages and no allusion. Now let's see whom people think of as a modern allusion of Daedalus. I will now show you a list of people that are often alluded to Daedalus
- Thomas Edison
- James Joyce [his own opinion according to Wikipedia]
- James Joyce wrote a book called Stephan Hero, which would later be called Portrait,he would have an alter ego and do what ever Daedalus did and he even flew in his novel. The only difference between his character's name and Daedalus's was the first a.
Also, another allusion to the myth is Beatty in Fahrenheit 451 compared Montag to Icarus. Lastly, in an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Twilight Sparkle makes some magical wings for Rarity, warning her that they are very delicate. Ignoring this, Rarity enters a flying competition, deciding to fly as high as possible so that the sun would shine through her wings and cover Cloudsdale in colorful light. The sun burns her wings up, and Rarity plummets nearly to her death, being saved only at the last moment by Rainbow Dash.
Famous works of art
A popular painting that was painted by Pieter Bruegel is featured above and it is a scene of people going through their normal life while Icarus falls out of the sky and goes into the sea.The painting is from the 1560's and is out of oil paints.
Next there is a pre-flight scene of Icarus having Daedalus strap on the wings.This painting is in the Art Gallery of Ontario and it is was painted by Anthony van Dyck in the 1620's by oil and canvas.
Sources
http://www.cretanbeaches.com/Information/Mythology/daedalus-and-icarus-myth/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Daedalus
http://www.shmoop.com/daedalus-icarus/technology-theme.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Dedalus
http://www.ago.net/anthony-van-dyck-daedalus-and-icarus
Klein, H. Arthur., and Mina C. Klein. Peter Bruegel the Elder: Artist of Abundance : An Illustrated Portrait of His Life, Era, and Art. New York: MacMillan, 1968. Print.
Ranalletta, Andrew J. The Greek Myths: For Better or Verse. New York: Exposition, 1972. Print.